Porcelain

Porcelain is a type of hard semi-translucent ceramic generally fired at a higher temperature than glazed earthenware, or stoneware pottery. It is white, but mildly translucent and can be decorated to provide colour.

European porcelain

The European porcelain was invented in Dresden and Meissen in Saxony, Germany (Meißen porcelain), in the reign of the Elector Augustus the Strong (1694-1733), where today can also be found the largest porcelain collection in the world. For over 200 years European alchemists had unsuccessfully tried to discover the secret of the Japanese and Chinese porcelain masters, until Augustus set out to discover the hidden process. Johann Friedrich Böttger finally unearthed the recipe to cure Augustus of his obsession with "White Gold".

Related Topics:
Dresden - Meissen - Saxony - Germany - Meißen porcelain - Elector - Augustus the Strong - 1694 - 1733 - Alchemists - Johann Friedrich Böttger

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The Europeans used a soft paste, which makes for weaker porcelain than the Chinese method. To compensate, around 1750 the English began to use calcined bone ash to strengthen their porcelain, with the resulting material (typically comprising 25% to 50% bone ash) becoming known as bone china.

Related Topics:
Europeans - 1750 - English - Bone ash - Bone china

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Key people and places

• Gshel, Russia
• Josiah Wedgwood
• Limoges, France
• Lladro, Spain
• Meißen, Germany
• Herend, Hungary
• Pécs, Hungary
• Porsgrunn, Norway
• Sèvres, France
• Worcester, England
• Delft, Netherlands